Bright Lights
by who're19
Summary: Aelin Galathynius knew when to ask for help, even if she thought she was troubling the people around her. Yes, that is what her friends wish they could say. Sadly, Aelin rarely takes threats seriously, and when there is one, they wonder, will her make-shift family be able to protect her?


The sweat poured down the soon-to-be queen as she ran. She could feel the monster breathing down her neck, but didn't dare peek over her shoulder at it. She knew that the minute she turned she would either have to fight or accept death.

But the heir of fire would never _never _accept death. She was quick, both on her feet and with her wit, she was skilled, in the courts and on the killing field, but more than either of those, more than anything she was strong. Her will alone would never allow her to die. Especially not at the hand of such a coward.

The monster had lurked around her camp for days but seemed to be kept away by some force that extended around her camp, but deep in the night, when even the stars seemed to blink in and out of the blackness of the sky, it had attacked.

The running was about to come to an end, there was a cliff approaching and the choices seemed to be limited.

She reached the clearing that led towards the edge and turned. The monster sneered at her.

"Where to now, Princess?" it's gnarled yellow teeth showing through the thin lips of the creature as he smiled at her.

She narrowed her eyes and took a breath, letting the killing calm flow over and through her. She smirked, but there was no mirth in her next words.

"To your death, of course," she spoke evenly and moved to raise her sword.

"CUT!" the director yelled.

Aelin's personal assistant ran over with her water bottle immediately. The blessed water was everything she had ever wanted in that moment and she gulped it down greedily.

"That was great today, Galathynius," her co-star, Dorian, who played a new king and good friend in the movie series that they'd been working on for the last three years.

Heir of Fire was a popular series that had been brought to life by a nobody producer and some nobody actors that took the story that they studied and brought to life with such passion that the masses could not help but become immersed in the storyline.

Aelin Galathynius had been a waitress, a starving artist, whatever you want to call it when she finally caught her break at the audition for the lead role of Crown Princess Lillian Gordania, heir to the fire magic of her world and future Queen to a successful kingdom.

"Thanks, babe," she grinned after finally setting down her now empty water bottle.

"So what are you up to this evening? Any fun parties or clubs that we need to be seen at tonight?" Dorian asked, and while his mouth held a smirk and his eyes were playful, Aelin knew that as much fun as both of them had at those kinds of events, they would both rather be in a library reading as much as they could before exhaustion overtook them. But in an effort to promote the show and themselves, the two actors frequently found themselves at those kinds of events, and almost always ended up together, leading fascinating discussions, getting the dance floor dancing, or sharing stories at the bar.

Dorian was one of the first real friends that Aelin had made when she came to LA and she was more than grateful for the easy-going handsome man then she could ever let on. Many assumed they were dating, the tabloids especially. But Aelin and Dorian were kindred spirits, and better off friends, as they had discovered.

"No parties tonight, but if you have one and need some company, you know that I am only a text away," she said

"Nope! No parties here either, looks like we truly have the night off, whatever will we do?" The pair had begun walking through the set to leave for the evening.

"We will sleep, Dorian, we will sleep for a very long and restful time."

The man laughed and slung his arm around Aelin as a way to signal his leaving for his car.

"Sleep well, Princess, we have kingdoms to save you know?" He teased. The cast and crew had all taken to the nickname of Princess, much to the actresses dismay.

She simply laughed, though and waved him off.

Walking alone was probably not the wisest move, but Aelin hadn't quite adjusted to her newfound stardom. The movie series had hit the peak of fame right after the second movie and now had a very large following. Most of which Aelin loved. But there were psychopaths everywhere, including the Heir of Fire fans. While most of the fanmail was sweet, some of the letters she had gotten recently had set her on edge. People often confused Lillian, the character she played, for her, the real-life human woman. This led to some people conveying their undying love for Aelin, someone they truly had never even met. It led to others vehemently hating her for something she had acted out in one of the movies. The latter had been more common in recent months. Something that should have warned Aelin to take more precautions but she was never one to let others scare her.

It wasn't quite dark out, but the sun was setting, casting the sky in pinks and oranges. LA seemed to be permanently 80 degrees this time of year so it wasn't stifling. There was nothing out of place and the world itself seemed at ease, but Aelin could not shake the nagging feeling in her gut.

"My name is Aelin Galathynius and I will not be afraid," she murmured to herself as she walked a tad faster than her normal pace.

Aelin's apartment was close to the set and the actress hadn't gotten a car partially because of that reason along with the absolute hell that was LA traffic. She just knew that if she had to sit in that mess that she might have to take a page out of her character's book and dismember the other drivers on the road. Which might not be the best impression to make.

Other footsteps settled into her pace from a distance away. Aelin was close enough to her apartment that if she sprinted she may be able to outrun whoever was following her. But while she was in shape, had to be for her job, she wasn't a trained warrior. On the off chance she didn't outrun the pursuer, she could just anger them and that wasn't at the top of Aelin's list of things to do.

She could just make out the roof of her apartment when the steps behind her quickened. In turn, Aelin walked faster but the person seemed to be gaining on her. She gave up on caring and started to run.

Her gold hair, still in the braid she wore it in onset, whipped behind her and her feet hit the pavement. Heavy steps sounded from behind her and she was almost to the door when she ran into a body.

A hard body.

"Oof" she groaned as the body wrapped its arms around her shoulders to keep her steady.

"Are you okay?" an accented voice leaned down and whispered in her ear.

The timbre that the man spoke with was entrancing but there was no warmth to his voice, no genuine care. She questioned herself on if he would be of any help or only see her as a spoiled actress. She looked up and he gazed down at her, his forehead was scrunched not in worry but in confusion.

"There was someone following me," she panted.

"I don't see anyone now," His arm was still around her shoulder as he scanned the street. Aelin ripped out of his hold and turned to scan the street herself. There was no one there, didn't look like there had been, besides her.

"Oh," she breathed.

"Maybe you shouldn't be walking alone at night if you have people following you," Aelin knew he thought he was being helpful but as a woman, Aelin had heard this her entire life and it did nothing but piss her off to hear this kind of advice.

"Maybe creeps should get help so that half the population can actually live their lives," she retorted.

"I meant nothing along the lines of you being a woman, more so that you're famous, creeps tend to flock to famous people" his jaw was tight and he didn't much care for her quip apparently.

"I can take care of myself," she responded. Aelin's stubborn side was more prominent than not.

"Maybe, but I did just keep you from falling on your ass right in the path of the bad man that was supposedly following you" the two kept their narrowed eyes on each other. Green meeting Turquoise.

"Asshole," she shouldered her way around him into the building that was only a few yards away now. When she reached the door she turned and looked behind her. The man who she had run into still watched her.

Maybe he wanted to make sure she got inside okay, or maybe he hadn't had anyone call him an asshole in a long time, but either or she merely turned and walked away.

Her heart was beating fast as she unlocked her apartment door. Elide and Lysandra were in the kitchen and called to her when she walked in. She stumbled out of her shoes, walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of wine.

Lysandra observed her behavior, waiting for Aelin to walk first. Her hand held Elide's elbow, having stopped the girl from going to Aelin as soon as it was evident that she was upset. Aelin reached for a glass, but with her shaky hands only managed to knock it onto the ground.

Elide yelped at the noise, already running to grab a broom.

"I got it" she called after she emerged from the pantry, broom, and dustpan in hand. Aelin just stared at the glass and grabbed for the wine bottle again.

Regardless of how much the girls got paid, their career advancements, etc. They had stayed together, rooming in a tiny apartment, thankfully having moved to this slightly bigger and safer one after Aelin had gotten the role in Heir of Fire. But regardless of their location, some things would never change, like their friendship and their love for cheap wine, specifically cheap wine with screw off tops. Like the one in Aelin's hand.

She opened the bottle and raised it to her lips, she gulped it down more out of necessity to distance herself from the walk/run home than thirst. She had finished half the bottle when Lysandra coughed. She finally turned her eyes to her friends.

"I got followed home today. Well, chased is more like it." She stated. The warmth spreading into her fingertips from the wine.

"YOU WHAT?" Lys and El exclaimed.

"I'm fine, some asshole ran into me and then the person was gone so," Aelin shrugged feigning indifference.

Lysandra's eye's watched her with animal sharpness and Aelin knew that her best friends would be able to see through the thin facade she had up. She opened her mouth, but Elide beat her to it. While she was the smallest of them all she was also the most protective of their little group.

"You are most certainly not fine Aelin Ashryver Galathynius! You are shaking so badly you knocked a wine glass out of the cabinet. You have had a half bottle of wine in less than five minutes even though you don't even like white wine," Aelin pulled the bottle away from where she held it against her side and looked at it, _huh_, she thought, Pinot Grigo, who would've thought it, but Elide continued. "So don't try and tell us you're fine. I'm calling Aedion."

Aelin groaned at the idea that her overprotective cousin would know about this, but she also knew that if she tried to hide it from him it would just serve to piss him off and as far as Aelin was concerned, the only thing worse than Aedion doting on her would be Aedion doting on her while he was pissed at her.

She settled into the living room couch and Lysandra sat beside her. Moving Aelin's feet onto her lap as she looked closely at her face.

"Are you actually okay, A?" Lysandra was truly concerned, her own past bleeding into her worries. Lysandra had been assaulted as a teen, she never let it own her. Had taken her fear and resentment and crafted it into confidence and strength, she still knew what it felt like to be helpless and would never wish that on her loved ones.

"I'm...okay. Physically, I'm fine. Mentally, I'm pissing myself," she grumbled. Her arms across her chest and now empty bottle of wine on the table in front of her.

Elide joined them after she got off the phone, slipping behind Aelin until the three women were a pile of bodies on the couch.

"Aedion is coming over," she mumbled as she got comfortable behind Aelin and Lysandra.

"I figured," Aelin said, resting her head against the back of the couch and closing her eyes.

The living room was quiet, the girls content to simply be next to their shaken up friend, to provide comfort in that way until Aelin confided in them.

The front door was open and shut quickly, and Aedion Ashryver, Aelin's cousin but basically brother, stomping into the room.

He hauled Aelin off of the couch and inspected her, she pushed him off and told him that if he wanted to be her doctor he better go to medical school first. Aedion worked in security, mostly working at events like premieres and elite parties throughout the Hollywood Hills, so medicine was not in his skills.

"What the hell happened? Were you walking home alone again? I told you after you started getting so much fan mail to get a freakin' car, I don't care how much you hate driving its safer than walking alone at night, Aelin!" He was angry and logically, she knew it was because he cared and his worry manifested this way, but illogically, she felt like she was being scolded.

"Screw you, Aedion! I am perfectly fine walking alone, I work less than 10 minutes from the front door! So one weirdo followed me home, it was probably a homeless person looking for a few bucks," but even as Aelin said the words she was haunted by the memory of the letters that have shown up at her publicist's office these last few months.

"I'm done Aelin. You have to be safer. If you don't take care of yourself than we will. We are worried for you because we love you Aelin" His once angry voice had turned softer as he finished.

Aelin blinked back the emotion shown on her face and nodded at him. The evening to herself that she had boasted about earlier had turned into quite the night, and not in a fun or at all preferable way.

She settled back into the couch, Elide wrapping an arm around Aelin's shoulder. Lysandra stood to follow Aedion into the other room to call whoever the hell was going to help them sort this out.


End file.
